Mufti attacks critics of troop reduction in J

Srinagar, May 23 (UNI) Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has come down heavily on the critics of troop cut in the state, saying they have no political understanding of the situation and their confrontational and obtrusive statements could only make the matters worse.

Addressing a public meeting at Kandimarg in Anantnag district, he said the urgency for troop reduction and revocation of the Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act (AFSPA) was mounting every moment as these measures were fundamental for the peace process to move on.

Withdrawal of troops was now inevitable to create conducive atmosphere on the ground for consolidation of the peace and reconciliation process in the state, Mr Sayeed added.

''We have to take advantage of the people's reconciliatory mood to build on the situation because it cannot be taken for-granted and any reversal of the process would have disastrous consequences not only for the state but the entire region,'' he said.

After having accomplished the daunting task of putting the state back on the path to peace, the PDP patron said this was the right time for troop withdrawal in the state.

The people must be liberated from the mentality of siege so that they feel the change and take charge of the situation, he added.

Mr Sayeed said for the first time, cutting across the party lines, there was a rare convergence of views between various political parties on the state's ground situation and the urgency for initiating people-friendly measures.

''Not only the Congress even the BJP leadership has stressed the need for winning the hearts and minds of the people of Jammu and Kashmir by restoring their dignity and esteem,'' he added.

The former Union Home Minister said the country's leadership must respond to the clarion call from the people of the state and initiate actual measures aimed at bringing dignified peace to their lives. ''I am sure the nation would respond positively to the people's yearning for dignified peace,'' he maintained.

Mr Sayeed said the PDP's participation in the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir was guided by certain principles and the party has always held the interests of the people supreme to power. ''The measures like healing touch initiated by the coalition government after the 2002 Assembly elections were a part of this people-friendly policy and it had paid dividends,'' he added.

Mr Sayeed said the people across the state acknowledge the relief they got on the security and the development fronts during that period. Even as a partner in the coalition government, the PDP has never shied away from its responsibilities toward the people and would continue to do so at whatever cost, he added.

Mr Sayeed declared that the PDP's self-rule document encompassing a comprehensive formula for the ultimate resolution of the Kashmir issue would be presented before the public soon. The self-rule proposal not only addresses the external and internal dimensions of the problem, but the political, constitutional, economic, social, ethnic, regional and sub-regional aspects as well, he added.

The former Chief Minister said the self-rule formula was based on the four fundamental principles of identity, control, legitimacy and independence to formulate and implement policies.

UNI